"Der geteilte Himmel" or "The Divided Heaven" is an East German movie that had its 50th anniversary two years ago. It was directed by CKonrad Wolf who also helped in adapting Christa Wolf's novel for the screen here. And there were many more writers working here, which is usually disappointing me if so many people work on a script and when it has such obvious flaws nonetheless. Too many cooks spoil the broth, at least in this case here. With that being said, I don't think this was a terrible film by any means. I think the political context is working well for the most part and makes it interesting on some occasions, but it just wasn't enough for a film that runs for almost 2 hours. The movie is also in black-and-white, even if by 1964 there were still many color films being produced everywhere around the world, but looking at other works from the country too, this was not yet the case for the GDR. The only cast member in the film I am familiar with looking at the names is Hilmar Thate. But even he was fairly forgettable. Same also goes for Renate Blume who did not do too much for me as the one playing the central character of the film. this may have worked better with a more gifted actress. But the worst thing that is pretty much a deal breaker for the negative side here is the dialogs. It was really cringeworthy to listen to the way they were talking. It all sounded so scripted and fake and never felt authentic in a way people would actually talk, even worse than in some Fassbinder films. This also almost destroyed the entire viewing experience for me. And the few positive factors simply weren't enough in terms of quality or quantity to outweigh the bad. I do not recommend the watch. Thumbs down and unfortunately to me this film is another piece of evidence how the GDR was never a great country in terms of filmmaking as this one is considered by many as one of the best films from the country. A sad state of affairs, that is.

"Der geteilte Himmel" tells the story of a young couple, whose life is turned upside down when one of them develops a plan of leaving the GDR and starting a new life in West Germany.

The film doesn't use big gestures or all too dramatic effects but rather tells a down to earth and honest portrayal of two "normal" people. It is, in a way, very political, because it adresses a lot of social issues inherent in the society of the countries while at the same time focussing on a very personal and private story. Unfortunately, at times it begns to feel a bit too calm and is missing the opportunities to set peaks or falls. That way it still tells a very noteable story but fails to leave even bigger impressions.

All in all this is surely a good addition to the repertoire of films centered around the German seperation but it's not the most impressive one and a bit unhandy.

Having seen two Konrad Wolf films set in WW2 ("Stars" and "I Was Nineteen", I was keen to see more of his work. I wish I hadn't bothered with this one, and can't explain why I sat through it to the end. I see it has been voted one of the 100 best German films, which says a lot about German cinema, none of it good. The two major problems are the story and the dialogue. As a voice- over near the end admits, the story is banal. I've had experience of life behind the Iron Curtain, so the girl's decision to split with the man she loved and return to the laughably-named German Democratic Republic made no sense to me. She wasn't a Communist, she'd seen the way the system treated her friend and fellow student, and she barely bothered to see her mother, so what drew her back? The joy of working in a factory making railway carriages, which was a waste of her intelligence? Lack of courage and imagination ("I've always lived in the same town")? What really sinks this film, as Thomas from Berlin points out, is the dreadful dialogue. Since the book is drawn from a Crista Wolf novel, and she helped write the script, I suspect the blame is largely hers. Characters, with the exception of the hero's father, just don't talk like human beings. I certainly feel no urge to read any of the lady's novels.